swt_passenger
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I think of Monty Python’s dead parrot sketch every time another thread starts up about this branch...
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End of the Line for Weymouth Quay branch - March 2020
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The sooner it is ripped up and the old connection plain-lined, allowing road and rail maintenance to be carried out more easily, the better
I guess that's so called progress for you.
never been to Weymouth in my life but although it is sad news my understanding is that the rails were in poor condition and the need for it had long gone Weymouth is mostly yachts now it's days as a ferry port and the traffic in perishables has long gone
I would imagine that the council sees it as a maintenance issue and with the rails lifted the road would be easier to maintain and less likely to be sued by injured cyclists
I would imagine that the council sees it as a maintenance issue and with the rails lifted the road would be easier to maintain and less likely to be sued by injured cyclists
Rick1984
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Would they get much money back in the lifted rail in scrap money?
Some, no doubt, but it'll hardly put much of a dent in the costs I suspect. The remaining stub before the level crossing at the station end will probably remain, but to become a proper siding it really needs an extra point end inserted at the junction to form a trap to allow stock to be left unnattended in it. I think it's track circuited as far as the fixed red protecting the level crossing (DR205?), with the move towards it authorised by a main aspect route, so it could even become an additional passenger platform if desired.
61653 HTAFC
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If a section of a buried tramway needs to be removed in order to replace a utility of some sort, it's an extra job for contractors and means the road is dug up for longer. This means more headaches for local residents and businesses. Getting rid of it now rather than sweeping it under the asphalt rug (as some would rather do) prevents all this. £1.5m does seem a lot of money, but what would that get on the railway? A few metres of platform extensions is about the limit. Yes, it's the average cost of a new passenger vehicle- but nobody is going to fund a single vehicle by halting this project.
If there was any chance of a viable use for the line, I'd be signing a petition to safeguard it... but there isn't. It's a relic of a bygone age I'm afraid.
Oh so now it's the railway paying for this, even though railway customers will get no benefit.
If I wasn't against removal before, I definately am now. We spend enough money from the railway budget already, trying to protect road users from themselves at level crossings.
61653 HTAFC
Veteran Member
I've no idea who is paying for it, but a post from @Bletchleyite compared the cost to that of a DMU vehicle, hence my single vehicle comment. £1.5m is peanuts in government terms anyway.
It might be, but even one platform extension could be crucial for an improved service.
swt_passenger
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Post #1 says NR and local council contributions of £200 thousand each, with £1.1 million from DfT.
Hmm. Maybe not so bad then. It still seems a waste of taxpayers money, which would be better spent improving the railway network, rather than ripping bits of it up.
Seems like a strange priority.
swt_passenger
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It’s announced on DfT website as a “roads” scheme, presumably as it’s fixing a road problem...
satisnek
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Inevitable, but a shame nevertheless. Did the line three times, firstly on a service train and then two railtours. All a very long time ago now.
Whilst I fully understand your concern, by lifting the tracks then NR can say that they have no future liability and so can be sure that they're not going to get a bill for the line in the future.
In doing so, even if this money is from the rail budget it may well be that it is a net zero cost or even may produce a saving.
But ridding NR of a maintainence liability for unused (and unlikely to ever be used) infrastructure.
swt_passenger
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Probably a bargain if a £200k contribution is enough to get it done, too.
Deepgreen
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What's the difference between cyclists and bikers?
I took it to mean pedal bikes and motorbikes.
Oh and as for the ferry, Condor wanted to stay but couldn't get the council to fit the bill for at least some of the upgrade works, something which should have been thought about when they did the repairs in the early 2010's (when condor had to leave temporarily).
Remember that whilst Weymouth does not necessarily have the road connections Poole/Hamworthy has it's a much easier port to get out of and is closer to Guernsey/Jersey and hence a faster journey time, plus Weymouth has holiday traffic right on the doorstep and was easily walkable to from most Hotels in Weymouth.
Leaving Hamworthy you end up spending a fair bit of time just getting out of Poole harbour with it's speed limits and I would guess that has an impact on fuel consumption, primarily as from what I can gather they are at their most efficient doing full whack.
Naturally leaving Weymouth you are basically out of the harbour in a couple of minutes, and as such can get up to full speed quite quickly. Plus you can walk to the ship from the waiting area, no connecting bus required.
As for why they went for a bigger ship, I believe that was partially their plan all along (which would have more than likely been a bigger incat) so as to have less sailing per day as thus saving money. In the end the trimaran was purchased as, Austal had already built it, had no takers (companies preferring tried and tested catamarans), plus I believe there were links to the banks that had stakes in Condor, so they were basically forced to buy the Liberation to put money into Austal, this ended up being unpopular with a lot of passengers as whilst it can supposedly operate in higher seas than a catamaran it moves differently in the water supposedly making it more nauseating, plus reliability early on was dreadful.
Remember that whilst Weymouth does not necessarily have the road connections Poole/Hamworthy has it's a much easier port to get out of and is closer to Guernsey/Jersey and hence a faster journey time, plus Weymouth has holiday traffic right on the doorstep and was easily walkable to from most Hotels in Weymouth.
Leaving Hamworthy you end up spending a fair bit of time just getting out of Poole harbour with it's speed limits and I would guess that has an impact on fuel consumption, primarily as from what I can gather they are at their most efficient doing full whack.
Naturally leaving Weymouth you are basically out of the harbour in a couple of minutes, and as such can get up to full speed quite quickly. Plus you can walk to the ship from the waiting area, no connecting bus required.
As for why they went for a bigger ship, I believe that was partially their plan all along (which would have more than likely been a bigger incat) so as to have less sailing per day as thus saving money. In the end the trimaran was purchased as, Austal had already built it, had no takers (companies preferring tried and tested catamarans), plus I believe there were links to the banks that had stakes in Condor, so they were basically forced to buy the Liberation to put money into Austal, this ended up being unpopular with a lot of passengers as whilst it can supposedly operate in higher seas than a catamaran it moves differently in the water supposedly making it more nauseating, plus reliability early on was dreadful.
The enthusiast in me says it is a shame especially as I would like to have done a final trip along the line but the reality is it is 1.25miles long and with constraints at both ends any sort of heritage operation is a non starter. The main station is close enough to the beach, the ferries have gone so there is no logical demand for the line. Other than being a throwback to an industrial past the lines serve no purpose now so sad though it is the outcome has been inevitable for years.
Maybe in the future there could be a James May style model railway relay of the quay, I can loan a Heljan class 33 and some Mk1s!
Maybe in the future there could be a James May style model railway relay of the quay, I can loan a Heljan class 33 and some Mk1s!
Journeyman
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I walked the length of the tramway while I was in Weymouth last month, and found the area around the station site at the harbour fenced off, with a lot of equipment present - I did wonder if that was perhaps the beginning of the end.
I can honestly say that there really is no practical use for this. It mixes in with fairly heavy traffic, doesn't go anywhere near the beach, and much of it goes past some fairly grim scenery, just in between buildings. The ferries have gone, and even if they hadn't, budget airlines have destroyed the market for foot passengers, so most ferry traffic is vehicle-based these days.
It was fascinating while it survived, but there's no feasible use for it, and the whole thing is bit of a liability. Its past use has been very well documented, and it's hardly a "crime" to move on. Weymouth needs a bit of sprucing up, to be honest, and removing a hazardous liability is probably a good place to start.
I can honestly say that there really is no practical use for this. It mixes in with fairly heavy traffic, doesn't go anywhere near the beach, and much of it goes past some fairly grim scenery, just in between buildings. The ferries have gone, and even if they hadn't, budget airlines have destroyed the market for foot passengers, so most ferry traffic is vehicle-based these days.
It was fascinating while it survived, but there's no feasible use for it, and the whole thing is bit of a liability. Its past use has been very well documented, and it's hardly a "crime" to move on. Weymouth needs a bit of sprucing up, to be honest, and removing a hazardous liability is probably a good place to start.
alistairlees
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Coming back from the Channel Islands in 1982 or 1983 I had the same loco to Southampton. My one and only time on the quay, but definitely fascinating to a small boy!
Belperpete
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You would need a reasonable depth of tarmac to avoid it breaking up under the weight of lorries (this was often a problem where old level crossings were lightly tarmaced over). Providing a decent depth of tarmac would probably need a considerable area of adjacent road to be raised to match, which along the length of the tramway might cost even more than doing the job properly.
A few years back, some roadworks in Derby city centre revealed some old tram tracks. I was surprised at how far below the current road level they were - about a foot or more if I remember correctly.
Belperpete
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While I agree in general about it being best to remove it, it would be good if a token short-length were kept as a historical reminder.
The Weymouth tramway was unique in a number of ways, and to totally obliterate it would be a loss. There can't have been many places where the instructions required the trains to be driven FASTER in poor weather! It must have been one of the last places to require the train to be preceded by a man on foot with flags. And the accompanying police car, with the officers resorting to various tactics to get parked cars out of the way, provided a masterclass in how to get into a car without a key! I thought it a bit dubious about going over the sprung points at the Quay, with the shunter having to keep the point lever held over reverse all the time a train full of passengers passed over the points - could have been interesting if he had accidentally let go! This was in the days when two trains went down to meet the boat (one WR DMU, and one SR 33+TC).
Belperpete
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When I was doing the signalling plans for the Bournemouth-Weymouth resignalling, we did muse on putting an AWS magnet on the tramway......Why don they keep it but add the 3rd rail into the tarmac so through trains can work from Waterloo?
ChilternTurbo
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I'd love to have travelled on this!
A colleague of mine grew up in Weymouth and said it was absolute chaos trying to get the train through because of parked cars. She also mentioned an unpleasant issue where passengers onboard the train were flushing toilets which would empty directly onto the road...
A colleague of mine grew up in Weymouth and said it was absolute chaos trying to get the train through because of parked cars. She also mentioned an unpleasant issue where passengers onboard the train were flushing toilets which would empty directly onto the road...
nlogax
Established Member
Yep! I saw this happen once in the 90s and it was an epically silly piece of street theatre. If you're one of the few who've not seen this video from Bogglesham on YouTube then you're in for a treat.
Something that will (thankfully for the town of Weymouth) never be repeated
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